Surviving for Shore

Inspiration, Strength Give Fitness-Support Group Momentum

Join me on my journey as I run, bike and more with Surviving for Shore

I do not have cancer. But I trust that someone close to me at some point in my life will. I arrived at Forever Young Nursery School Wednesday for Surviving for Shore’s kickoff meeting nervous and afraid I would not belong. Cancer survivors Michele Reimer and Tina Kennis founded the group with the premise of strengthening those impacted by cancer through physical fitness. I'm not unfamiliar with the disease. My grandfather died just more than a year ago at 100 years old. While it didn't kill him, he did suffer from prostate cancer.  There also was Lainie, a church friend who died at 12. I was shy at that young age, and she was one of the few children I felt comfortable talking to. Lainie and I weren’t all that close, only interacting on the…

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Surviving for Shore: Local Support Group to Help Cancer Survivors 'Thrive'

A kick off event for the fitness group will be held at 6:31 p.m. Wednesday, March 13 at Forever Young Nursery School

Michele Reimer and Tina Kennis do not think of themselves as athletes, although they consistently compete in races and are currently training for a marathon. Reimer and Kennis, both cancer survivors and black belts, met at karate five years ago. The duo began running together a year later. Kennis was a breast cancer survivor for six years when Reimer was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2010. “We were running at the time,” she said, adding that they continue to run to keep their fitness level up and to “not let cancer get the best of us.” And cancer has not gotten the best of Reimer or Kennis. Reimer is currently training for a Half Iron Man, a 1.2-mile swim, 56 -mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run. Kennis is training for an Olympic …

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